Alchemy: Dominaria Draft Set Review

Hey everyone! It’s time to see what kind of zany things have been cooked up in the alchemy lab for Dominaria United limited. Fair warning, these cards were all designed for constructed purposes so they tend to be a lot more powerful than what we are used to in draft.

What happens when you add an extra busted card to every pack in a world where fixing is abundant? We’re about to find out. Players draft three packs of Dominaria United, but one common card in each pack is replaced with a card from Alchemy: Dominaria. This card can be any rarity as follows:

• 55% of packs contain an uncommon card.
• 38.57% of packs contain a rare card.
• 6.43% of packs contain a mythic card.
• Each rare appears twice as often as each mythic.

Here’s the usual grading scale, and you can find the updated ratings in our Limited Tier List:

• 5.0: Disgustingly powerful and basically unbeatable. Either answer it the turn it comes down or just pack up your cards. (Tovolar's Huntmaster, The Meathook Massacre, Starnheim Unleashed)
• 4.5: Incredible bomb that still gives your opponent a slim chance. (Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Alrund's Epiphany, Grand Master of Flowers)
• 4.0: Great rare or the absolute best uncommons and removal. (Froghemoth, Morbid Opportunist, Skullport Merchant)
• 3.5: Great role filler or removal that you never cut. (Magic Missile, Cathartic Pyre, Battle Cry Goblin)
• 3.0: Good playable that I’m basically never cutting. (Usher of the Fallen, Search Party Captain, Dragon Turtle)
• 2.5: Decent playable and the bar I hope nearly every card in my deck to reach. (Mourning Patrol, Steadfast Paladin, Goblin Morningstar)
• 2.0: Mediocre filler that normally is your 20-23rd card(s). (Contact Other Plane, Mindleech Ghoul, Timberland Guide)
• 1.5: Replaceable, overall bad filler. Could also be decent sideboard cards. (Secrets of the Key, Spiked Pit Trap, Village Rites)
• 1.0: Bad filler. Gets cut most of the time. (Secret Door, Mystic Skull, Funeral Longboat)
• 0.5: Very unhappy to main deck this, but maybe it has fringe sideboard applications. (You See a Guard Approach, Bramble Armor, Compelled Duel)
• 0.0: Unplayable in every possible situation. (Mimic, Change of Fortune, Curse of Shaken Faith)

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Artifacts

Coalition Construct

Rating: 3.0/5

Being able to construct a lord effect for the type of your choice is solid, but unspectacular in a set without a tribal theme to it. It does get a little bump up because you are almost guaranteed to be able to get a bonus on at least one creature when you drop this.

This is also held back because token makers don’t get the bonus if they were in your hand when you cast Coalition Construct. You have to cast Captain's Call first before playing this to pump up the jams and it would be a much better curve out if you could reverse that order.

Multicolored

Arvad, Weatherlight Smuggler

Rating: 3.5/5

I don’t know what Arvad is smuggling, but he’s going to be coming in hot in the Orzhov tokens decks. An all-in attack followed by dropping this is probably going to be at least a 5/5 deathtouch lifelink while still being cheap enough to allow for a double spell.

The key thing here is that it counts for every creature that died this turn, not just yours. That means that after luring your opponent into an innocent trade, you can drop this as a 3/3 for only two mana. Arvad is a growing boy too as he’s going to keep getting bigger as the game goes along.

The perpetual actually matters as it prevents Tolarian Geyser from being able to reset it.

Bloodsprout Talisman

Rating: 1.0/5

A colorless talisman that comes into play tapped and costs one life to activate isn’t what I want to be doing in DMU or pretty much any limited format that’s ever existed. If talisman fixed for colors there would be a slight possibility that this was playable. As it is, I’d rather drink expired milk on a hot summer day than play this.

Darigaaz, Shivan Champion

Darigaaz, Shivan Champion’s Spellbook

• Shivan Dragon
• Moonveil Regent
• Terror of the Peaks
• Leyline Tyrant
• Immersturm Predator
• Manaform Hellkite
• Bone Dragon
• Demanding Dragon
• Skarrgan Hellkite
• Thunderbreak Regent
• Black Dragon
• Skyship Stalker
• Red Dragon

Rating: 4.5/5

Darigaaz might be a champion, but you’ll be the one holding up the trophy after you draft this. It’s a massive flying dragon that requires your opponent to kill it before your end step or you get the countdown started on another busted dragon. There aren’t a ton of instant speed answers outside of Essence Scatter, Extinguish the Light, and Destroy Evil . Oh, and that happens again every turn and the dragons go straight into play without having to pay for them. Great times.

Juggernaut Peddler

Conjured Cards

• Juggernaut

Rating: 2.5/5

Well apparently, Universes Beyond now extends to Used Car Salesmen. May I interest you in this fine Juggernaut? I assure you it’s definitely never been involved in an accident or a mystical war with all of creation at stake.

While you do get to pick off their best card and a Juggernaut isn’t great, it’s still something you have to deal with. Luckily, big juggs has to attack and even if you don’t have a 6/6 sitting around to eat it, a card like Eerie Soultender gives you a way to trade while getting some value back.

Worst case you just end up with a hard to cast 2/2 vigilance for two.

Niambi, Beloved Protector

Rating: 3.5/5

It’s not that difficult to setup a trade to get a creature back with this. In that case you’re already up a card, but that’s also just where the fun begins.

While removal is the first thing you think about when you read about drawing a card off of being targeted, you can find other creative ways to abuse it. The other obvious one is turning tricks like Take Up the Shieldinto cantrips. You can even get crazy by using Clockwork Drawbridge as a card draw engine or transform Stall for Time into an instant speed Divination.

The other consideration is equipment which once per turn you can reequip it to the creature to draw another card.

Protean War Engine

Protean War Engine’s Spellbook

1. Serra Angel
2. Resplendent Angel
3. Steel-Plume Marshal
4. Duelcraft Trainer
5. Falconer Adept
6. Seraph of Dawn
7. Star-Crowned Stag
8. Benalish Marshal
9. Serra Paragon
10. Blade Historian
11. Captivating Crew
12. Manaform Hellkite
13. Moonveil Regent
14. Skyship Stalker
15. Ogre Battledriver

Rating: 2.5/5

There are some premium hits on this, but it still costs three to crew which is a lot to ask in the early game. Even in the late game it is really going to depend on getting one of the better ones to be worth having to pay such a high crew cost.

As with anything else in the set that lets you tap a creature at instant speed or without attacking, Radha, Coalition Warlord and Zar Ojanen, Scion of Efrava become much better with this or any other vehicle.

Slimefoot, Thallid Transplant

Slimefoot, Thallid Transplant’s Spellbook

1. Deathbloom Thallid
2. Deathbonnet Sprout
3. Rhizome Lurcher
4. Spore Crawler
5. Sporecrown Thallid
6. Sporemound
7. Swarm Shambler
8. Thallid Omnivore
9. Thallid Soothsayer
10. Yavimaya Sapherd
11. Fungal Plots
12. Verdant Force
13. Verdant Embrace
14. Spore Swarm
15. Saproling Migration

Rating: 4.5/5

I’m sorry, WHAT?!? This is absolutely insane because it just straight draws you a card EVERY time a Swamp or Forest enters play. That’s it, no other drawbacks or requirements.

There really aren’t any big misses in the spellbook with a good mix for different parts of the game. It’s just a completely busted Magic card that should elicit a celebratory fist pump every time you open it.

 It even has some great flavor with Slimefoot's Survey by making it a potential Divination on top of everything else it does.

Teferi’s Contingency

Rating: 1.5/5

If you absolutely, positively need to have a counterspell you can board this in. The mana cost is way too restrictive and the upside isn’t going to come up as often in limited. Just play Ertai's Scorn over this every single time.

Tiana, Angelic Mechanic

Rating: 2.5/5

Unless you have Golden Argosy, Protean War Engine, or Smogbelcher Chariot this is just a 3/2 flyer for three. Yeah, I left Weatherlight Compleated off the list because I don’t know what type of twisted hellscape you are drafting in where you have that, Astor, Bearer of Blades, and Tiana, Angelic Mechanic in your deck.

On its base stats, it’s an acceptable magic card. Nothing to get excited about.

Vodalian Tide Mage

Rating: 4.5/5

Oh hey, guess what? You have to block all my creatures or I just get to add another one to my hand. Let me read that again…yeah…are you screwing with me here wizards? This is not remotely fair as a limited card.

It even has a decent body that can come down on curve for an immediate free card out of your Nishoba Brawler you played on turn two. Trample means that this is probably triggering even if they managed to trade for it. Are you having fun yet? This is going to cause many a virtual table to get flipped.

White

Benalish Knight-Counselor

Rating: 2.5/5

Normally I’m really down on Savannah Lions in limited, but this slides right into the curve of Boros. With all of the greedy decks out there, it is definitely possible to punish them before they get a chance to set up and this provides the one drop it desperately needs.

This is such an amazing curve with Baird, Argivian Recruitersince it can trigger it with both the enlist and the future +1+1 counter you get on a creature. I’m going to have to counsel you to take these if you’re trying to go low.

Priest of Possibility

Rating: 2.5/5

It could be anything! Even a boat! Time to roll the mystical die of “did I just play a Grizzly Bear”. There’s the possibility that it’s good and the possibility it’s pretty mediocre. Seven cards might sound like a lot to look at, but not nearly enough to guarantee that you hit a creature with any these abilities, let alone multiple.

Even if you manage to hit flying and haste on turn two, it’s not like it’s a broken card. There’s not even a double strike creature in the set to hit to make it really go off.

Pull of the Mist Moon

Rating: 3.5/5

If you just thump this for three mana, it’s a much better Citizen's Arrest that can hit any nonland permanent. Kicking it is the real pull for this as it turns anything else in your hand into an Oblivion Ring as well. Taking out their best two permanents is sure to turn the tide of almost any game.

Blue

Oracle of the Alpha

Conjured Cards

• Ancestral Recall
• Time Walk
• Timetwister
• Black Lotus
• Mox Emerald
• Mox Jet
• Mox Pearl
• Mox Ruby
• Mox Sapphire

Rating: 1.5/5

The ultimate Monkey’s Paw card. Seriously adding five pseudo lands to your deck is no bueno. Black Lotusis almost the same as a land if you draw it later and Timetwister is very situational. Even if you draw Ancestral Recall or Time Walk, some of that value is eliminated by the fact that the cards you get off of them are probably just going to be lands or moxes.

Do not play this card! As Admiral Ackbar would tell you, it’s a trap!

Skywriter Djinn

Skywriter Djinn’s Spellbook

1. See the Truth
2. Teferi's Time Twist
3. Flood of Recollection
4. Keep Safe
5. Hard Evidence
6. Ghostform
7. Startle
8. Hampering Snare
9. Stifle
10. Contentious Plan
11. Majestic Metamorphosis
12. Befuddle
13. Bury in Books
14. Choking Tethers
15. Suit Up

Rating: 4.0/5

A decently statted flyer with a free card thrown in. It could even get you a second one pretty easily in domain. Now that’s a Mulldrifter! While there is a pretty big variance in the value of what you get, a lot of them end up replacing themselves so it’s never too bad.

One of the important things to notice is that it conjures a random card from the spellbook instead of drafting a card so you don’t have any say over what you get.

Trove Mage

Rating: 2.0/5

I’m assuming that you have a few artifacts in your deck, otherwise this is an unplayable dumpster fire. Unlike Micromancer, you shouldn’t be making decisions for your deck based off of having this. You either are already playing those cards or you aren’t.

Seeking from the top ten instead of tutoring up one like Trinket Mage or Treasure Mage means that even if you have one or two artifacts in your deck, you might still miss. Ten cards are a lot, but none of the artifacts in this set are that great anyway so I’d probably steer away from this.

Vesuvan Mist

Rating: 3.5/5

I already love Dimir control decks in Dominaria United and this gives them another pretty sweet piece of interaction. Bouncing any permanent and making a copy of it is usually going to be better than just outright killing it. As the control deck you are more likely to have the right answer to the threat they present than they are to your returned threat.

Even if you don’t get to blow out a combat trick or reset some counters with the bounce, it’s still similar to a Clone effect.

You can even use it to save your own critter and get a second copy for good measure. Oh you wanted to kill my Tolarian Terror? Well it must be a Hydra because you cut off one head and two rose up.

Black

Darigaaz’s Whelp

Rating: 2.5/5

A 2/1 flyer for two will almost always make the cut and these get better in multiples since they can seek each other. If you happen to have any of the busted rare or mythic dragons, then this gets bumped up quite a bit.

Every time my opponent kicks this, I’m going to think, “Whelp, I’m screwed”. I know it’s going to be panic inducing thinking is it going to be Darigaaz, Shivan Champion, Rith, Liberated Primeval, or just a little old Shivan Devastator. Sure, it’s much more likely to get Dragon Whelp, but let’s see what runs through your head in this scenario.

Diminished Returner

Rating: 2.5/5

Llanowar Greenwidow that we have at home is still pretty solid. The comes into play tapped is a decent drawback, but it’s still got acceptable stats and comes back for cheap even if it is a little diminished.

Reezug, the Bonecobbler

Rating: 2.0/5

For clarity, when you bring something back with this, it is no longer a creature. No attacking or blocking, etc… You just have a statue of that creature chilling on the battlefield. You also still have to pay full cost for that no longer a creature and that’s not something you really want to be doing early on.

There are obviously some cards that this goes well with like Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, but I would much rather just recur the creature itself instead of turning it into an artifact.

Smogbelcher Chariot

Rating: 3.0/5

All of these abilities just play so well together. They either get two for one’d because of Menace and Deathtouch or they let you keep spreading abilities around your team like STDs at a frat party. Lifelink even lets you keep gaining enough life to stay ahead of almost any race.

The usual vehicle drawbacks apply such as needing creatures to actually do anything and the crew cost being really high. In this case, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

Red

Ghitu Embercoiler

Rating: 3.5/5

Even for a pyromancer, this wizard is straight fire. Izzet or Boros would love to be rocking a bear with prowess and this is so much more than that.

Turning all of your extra lands into a guaranteed nonland every single turn is going to help snowball the game in your favor. You can even pitch your no longer relevant lower drops to get higher costed spells that will actually affect the board.

Goblin Influx Array

Goblin Influx Array’s Spellbook

1. Goblin Warchief
2. Goblin Chieftain
3. Skirk Prospector
4. Brash Taunter
5. Wily Goblin
6. Goblin Trashmaster
7. Ember Hauler
8. Relic Robber
9. Fanatical Firebrand
10. Goblin Arsonist
11. Reckless Ringleader
12. Battle Cry Goblin
13. Beetleback Chief
14. Goblin Instigator
15. Legion Warboss

Rating: 4.0/5

A personal Howling Mine that is guaranteed to hit pure gas and makes those spells cheaper. I’m in. This goes in literally any deck, even as a splash, because nothing in the spellbook requires more than one red source after the cost reduction.

In an aggressive deck this keeps the peddle to the floor until they are a pile of ashes and in a control deck it provides blockers until eventually overwhelming them. Now that’s an impressive array.

Goblin Morale Sergeant

Rating: 2.5/5

Haste means this can usually sneak in a couple damage early and even though its ability isn’t technically card advantage, it’s got some pretty sweet uses. Outside of doubling up a rare, being able to get more Keldon Strike Teams or Meria's Outriders in your deck can lead to getting you across that finish line.

Spellchain Scatter

Rating: 1.5/5

This comes off as a much less flexible Twinferno. Unless I’m trying to combo out and kill them on turn four with Ghitu Amplifier and Balmor, Battlemage CaptainI’m probably leaving this where it belongs… The sideboard.

Green

Marwyn’s Kindred

Conjured Cards

• Marwyn, the Nurturer
• Llanowar Elves

Rating: 3.0/5

They should have called this Marwyn’s Family Reunion. This is your classic absurd late game draw that doesn’t do much early. You can’t even really play this for a lower amount because there aren’t enough elves in the set to fuel Marwyn, the Nurturer outside of the ones you get when you cast this.

Nantuko Slicer

Rating: 4.0/5

This might seem unassuming, but it slices, it dices, and it can even steal the best card in your opponent’s graveyard. I’ll take an Eternal Witness on steroids with serious upside all day long. In a format where Urborg Repossession is busted, how about we make a Gravedigger that can get back any card and then some.

It even has a perfect home in the Sultai value decks. Easy first pick windmill slam.

Vinesoul Spider

Rating: 2.5/5

A slightly overstatted reach creature that does fill the two-drop slot nicely. It’s not going to live through any combat so it’s not really a flying deterrent so much as a one off Plummet blocker. The thinning your deck out takes a few turns to have any real effect on the odds of drawing real cards, but it can matter in the late game.

This is an interesting one because it’s ability can randomly be a pretty big detriment in a deck with splashes. Putting all of your splash lands in the graveyard can leave you with dead cards in your hand unless you have an Urborg Repossession to get them back. I know that sounds like “OMG self-mill” crazy talk, but it is something to consider.

Wandering Treefolk

Rating: 2.5/5

A creature I would probably be playing for its stats alone that can repeatedly draw a creature card for only three mana (if you have Domain and you will). I don’t have to wonder if that’s good, it’s going to fit perfectly in any domain deck.

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Wrap Up

This is a pretty big addition to Dominaria United drafts with domain decks looking like the biggest winner here with multiple absurd cards up and down the curve. I hope you enjoy this momentary power surge for the next week before we end up back in a place I never imagined we’d be, an alchemized Streets of New Capenna.

If you have any questions, let me know in the comments below.

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